21 Years
by AwaitTheRise
Summary: The 21 years of Itachi's life through the eyes of others.
1. Prologue

-21 Years-

_A brief synopsis of the life of Uchiha Itachi:_

Year 1- There are whispers among the clan of the babe with the too-sharp eyes.

Year 2- A mother wonders whether _genius_ is a blessing or a curse.

Year 3- Shisui meets Itachi; Itachi meets a monster.

Year 4- Minato thinks that this gentle boy would be a good successor; Kushina thinks he needs to play some pranks.

Year 5- Itachi becomes a big brother, and fate is irrevocably altered.

Year 6- The water reflects the too-bright flames and steam escapes into the air. His father's hand is heavy on his head.

Year 7- Itachi graduates the Academy, and is congratulated.

Year 8- The fully formed sharingan imprints the fearful faces deep in his memory.

Year 9- He likes to go to Ichiraku's for lunch and get dango for dessert.

Year 10- The chunin exams are held in Kirigakure; the water turns as red as Itachi's eyes.

Year 11- He is Anbu, and he sees a scarecrow's mismatched eyes in his nightmares.

Year 12- He stands before the Yondaime's grave and asks for an answer; he prays for time.

Year 13- Demons ordered democide; he committed patricide, matricide, paedocide, and populocide. He prays that he won't commit fratricide.

Year 14- The Akatsuki are undeniably, a bunch of weirdos.

Year 15- Konan is beautiful, impassive, and suspicious. Nagato is quite friendly.

Year 16- Sasori hands the medicine to him discreetly, and never pries.

Year 17- Itachi wonders what he should do with Orochimaru's hand.

Year 18- Deidara seems to be a mix of Shisui and Sasuke- he's annoying, loud, and obsessively wishes for Itachi's death.

Year 19- Kakashi knows there's something off about his story. But he'll keep his distance, because nothing good ever came with getting involved with the Uchiha.

Year 20- Kisame wistfully remembers when Itachi was just (a clan murdering psychopath of) a kid.

Year 21- Itachi is one of (if not the) most powerful shinobi in the world.

/

He is dead before he reaches 22.


	2. Year 1

-Year 1-

Uchiha Teyaki looks upon the infant in Uruchi's arms with wariness. He looks up and Uruchi answers the unspoken question. "Mikoto-sama asked me to watch him for a while, and I agreed. Isn't he cute?"

Teyaki stares into the babe's unblinking, unnaturally sharp eyes.

Already, the clan whispers about the boy's unnatural quiet, about his focused eyes and too-advanced movements. Everybody knows that their young lord is something special.

"Yes," Teyaki says heavily, "he is cute."


	3. Year 2

-Year 2-

Uchiha Mikoto gazes at her sleeping son with strained eyes.

This morning, when she had taken him to the market, Kushina had greeted them with a smile. "Mikoto-chan! And little Itachi too!" she had said, her eyes scanning the marketplace quickly.

Her voice had lowered, and she'd whispered, "we've all heard about what a genius you are, Itachi-chan." The Uchiha matriarch thought she had seen a hint of pity in Kushina's apologetic eyes.

Mikoto had thanked her with a smile as sharp as the edge of a knife on her face.

_Genius,_ Kushina had said.

The Yellow Flash was a genius, his _hiraishin _kunai stained with blood and the weight of the world on his tired shoulders.

Hatake Kakashi was a genius, his back straight as his too-thin frame made its way out the village gates.

She herself had been a genius once, her ANBU mask flecked with blood, and her eyes as soulless as a demon's.

Mikoto knows that her husband thinks that Itachi's genius is a blessing upon the clan.

But Mikoto knows that more than anything, genius is a curse.


	4. Year 3

-Year 3-

Uchiha Shusui stares down at the toddler in front of him.

"Hello," Shusui says politely. Politeness is important, his mother had always said. "Hello," says Itachi, equally as polite, for his mother had also impressed upon him the importance of manners.

Shusui's eyes flicker to the targets scattered throughout the training ground.

"Would you like me to teach you how to throw a kunai?" he offers, hoping that for once an Uchiha child had not been warned off by their parents. "Yes, thank you," Itachi replies.

Shusui smiles, pleasantly surprised, and says, "My name is Uchiha Shisui."

Itachi gives a small smile. "My name is Uchiha Itachi."

"Well, I think this is the start of a great friendship, Itachi-chan," Shusui says, and for the smallest moment his eyes gleam red.


End file.
